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Latent infection of winter oilseed rape by Leptosphaeria maculans
Author(s) -
NATHANIELS N. Q. R.,
TAYLOR G. S.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
plant pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.928
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1365-3059
pISSN - 0032-0862
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3059.1983.tb01297.x
Subject(s) - leptosphaeria maculans , biology , canker , inoculation , mycelium , botany , spore , hypha , horticulture , brassica
Plants of oilseed rape, cultivars Primer and Jet Neuf, were grown in a glasshouse and inoculated at G.S. 2.4–2.7 with pycnidiospores or ascospores of Leptosphaeria maculans. The plants were kept for a further 2–4 weeks at 14°C and then transferred, together with uninoculated plants, to a polythene tunnel in winter. The majority of stems of inoculated plants did not have macroscopic symptoms of L. maculans infection 6 weeks after inoculation. Examination of whole mounts of peripheral tissue and transverse sections of fixed and embedded portions of these stems revealed intercellular septate fungal hyphae, often deep in non‐necrotic cortical tissue, in symptomless inoculated plants but not in uninoculated plants. L. maculans was recovered following surface sterilization of adjacent portions of the same stems. When symptomless inoculated plants were transferred to a glasshouse at 18–20°C, cankers soon developed. The significance of these latent mycelial infections to canker development in the field is discussed.